Alain Ptito is Director of the Psychology Department at the MUHC and a recognized expert on traumatic brain injury (TBI). Ptito’s research investigates the mechanisms involved in cerebral reorganization and plasticity in patient populations (hemispherectomy, callosotomy, Parkinson’s Disease, stroke and TBI). For the past several years, he has been using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate motor recovery in stroke and the neural substrates of residual vision in the blind visual field following hemispherectomy. He has also demonstrated that this technique, along with Diffusion Tensor Imaging and evoked potentials, can be used to explore the neural mechanisms underlying traumatic brain injury, particularly in athletes.

In recent years, Ptito has explored new methods of using fMRI for examining brain trauma. In athletes, he has been using fMRI to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying working memory. He has been able to carry out baseline fMRI and neuropsychological testing with hockey and football varsity athletes and to repeat the tests immediately after concussion and subsequently until symptom resolution. His results show that fMRI is sensitive enough to detect abnormal activation patterns in symptomatic concussed individuals and that it could provide an objective way to measure the severity of or recovery from a concussion. More recently, he has been investigating mild TBI in motor vehicle accident victims and in children. He and his team are also investigating treatments, including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). This involves targeting injured regions of the brain with a magnetic field in order to increase blood flow. This is important because blood carries oxygen, a necessary ingredient for a functioning brain. Pilot tests with an MRI system are encouraging as they show TMS does increase blood flow and patients report improvement. In a separate neurostimulation study, sponsored by the U.S. Army and aiming to stimulate neuroplasticity, cerebral reorganization and recovery following mild TBI, Dr. Ptito is investigating whether electrically stimulating the tongue, combined with intensive physiotherapy, is an effective treatment for relieving gait and balance deficits following mild to moderate traumatic brain injury. The tongue is connected to two cranial nerves (V and VII), which are in turn linked to the brain stem. He hopes to show that stimulating the tongue via electrodes stimulates the entire brain and encourages uninjured regions to take over for injured ones.

The Montreal Neurological Institute & Hospital is a McGill University research and teaching institute; delivering the highest quality of care to patients, as part of the Neuroscience Mission of the McGill University Health Centre. The Neuro is proud to be a Killam Institution, supported by the Killam Trusts.